toxic algae
Ladies and gentlemen, we give you: The first blue-green algal bloom of 2025 (photo courtesy of the Ohana Surf Shop in Stuart). Well, technically, the Florida DEP’s “Algal Bloom Dashboard” flags numerous blooms across the state; but one of those…
Aside from some recent flare-ups — like the toxic algae found in the St. Lucie River this past spring and the near-constant algae in Lake Okeechobee — Florida waters have mostly been spared the massive, guacamole-like blue-green algae blooms that choked…
When it comes to solving Florida’s water pollution problems, we’re always looking for the silver bullet, the easy way, the shortcut. And these shortcuts almost always involve “technology.” So we were unsurprised to see a bill filed earlier this month…
It’s toxic algae season — the least wonderful time of the year! At last week’s South Florida Water Management District Governing Board meeting, District Director of Water Resources Lawrence Glenn reported that algae blooms on Lake Okeechobee are beginning to…
After last week’s newsletter asking if our discharge crisis was over, we got lots of feedback from readers along the Gulf coast who said the answer was “no.” While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers halted discharges from Lake Okeechobee…
At last week’s South Florida Water Management District meeting, several speakers took potshots at those of us who want to “send it south.” It’s all fine and good to call for water to be sent to the stormwater treatment areas…
For months we’ve been predicting it. Thursday it became official: Beginning Saturday, Feb. 17, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin hammering the northern estuaries with discharges from Lake Okeechobee. In a press release the Corps said water will…
Another day, another “technological” fix for Florida’s dirty water. Today’s news story comes to you from the Indian River Lagoon, where Florida Today recently reported on how attempts to “harvest” harmful algae via a floating barge could make the lagoon…
After several years of using an algaecide to kill blue-green algal blooms in Lake Okeechobee and the canals around it, the South Florida Water Management District now plans to test the chemical compound for possible damage to the environment. At…
Ten years ago today, we were in the eye of the storm. The discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers had begun May 8; by early August 2013 the “Lost Summer” was in full swing, with…
